The start of the new year meant kicking off Delta’s uniform fitting tour in 14 Delta cities, including two international locations. Last Tuesday, the first fitting experience started in Orlando with other events underway in Atlanta, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City.

The creative fitting experience was designed with the help of Savannah College of Art and Design students to introduce the airline’s 60,000 customer-facing employees to their new uniforms in the most thoughtful way possible. Paper airplanes line the ceilings. A vast selection of accessories sit on display. Employees are matched with a personal stylist from fashion and alteration backgrounds to pull sizes and offer consultations. And each fitting concludes with a moment for every newly uniformed person to strut and shine on a platform runway.

“We wanted to create an experience where employees could come in and not just try on the uniform, but also have various different activities they could be a part of,” said Ekrem Dimbiloglu, Director - New Uniform Program.

The fittings are a symbolic experience for employees, after a three year process where their voices have been the driving force on the new designs. Seeing pieces tailor made for each division is the first opportunity for most employees to touch and try on the garments. The interaction with the fabrics, colors and designs before their own uniform arrives in the mail makes this fitting process unique, and reflective of true Delta culture.

“When we go to the full length on making the uniform, you really have to kind of go that extra mile to deliver the fitting experience as well,” said Ed Brown, Project Leader for New Uniform Program - TechOps.

The Delta uniform fitting team sees roughly 600 employees every day. The fitting tour will continue in Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, Boston, Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Amsterdam and Tokyo through the month of April. Delta employees can be found adorned in Passport Plum, Cruising Cardinal and Groundspeed Graphite on the concourse May 29.